San Diego Man Arrested in Ferguson Violence

NBC 7's Megan Tevrizian talked with San Diegan Parker Jaques about why he flew across the country to join protestors in Ferguson, Missouri and what led to his arrest. (Published Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014)

A San Diego man who was among the non-residents arrested in violent clashes with police in Ferguson, Missouri said he is there to do whatever he can to minimize loss of life.

Tear gas and flash grenades were fired into crowds of protesters in the streets of Ferguson Monday night as violence continued in the aftermath of a deadly officer-involved shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Then, Monday afternoon, he was with a group of protesters talking to local business owners when he was arrested.

"A bunch of cops swooped in and took us," he explained adding that the group wasn't warned ahead of time.

He did not resist arrest, he said, because his purpose there was to be peaceful. As he was talking to the officers, Jaques said it appeared the police were trying to discourage the non-residents from getting involved in the protests.

“What they’re trying to do is get the people who are from out of state or out of town to leave so that they can go on abusing their own citizens without anyone seeing it,” he claims.

A screen grab of the website STLMugshots shows Parker Lorenz from San Diego after his arrest in Ferguson, Missouri.
Photo credit: STLMugshots

Several years ago, Jaques said he had a run-in with some police officers while suffering a seizure.

"I fought three cops like a man possessed," he recalls. "I deserved a good tasing." However, he said the officers showed compassion and restraint.

So when he heard of the shooting involving Brown, Jaques said he felt compelled to act.

“If Darren Wilson had exercised the same kind of judgment and compassion that he should do every day as a police officer Mike Brown wouldn’t be lying in a casket and I wouldn’t need to be here,” he said.